Emma Ruth Rundle – On Dark Horses

By Trevor Hatter

Sargent Records

Emma Ruth Rundle’s fourth album, On Dark Horses, is a powerful, soulful journey tailored for the beleaguered and spiritually injured. Using masterful prose, it touches on themes of vulnerability while inspiring the listener to rise above personal challenges, encouraging the conscious choice to see meaning in pain. Opening with a potent bout in “Fever Dream,” the record is filled with dreamy breakdowns, ghostly guitar reverb and the message of survivorship. With help from a comprehensive ensemble, Rundle swiftly carries us to the centerpiece track “Darkhorse,” musing on the duality of the human spirit in the line, “It’s the darkhorse you give legs to.” Drawing from the same vein as a folktale of two wolves who battle inside our hearts — the winner will be the one best fed. The pacing slows down periodically, trading intensity for melancholy, consistently rattling the cage of the listener’s consciousness while maintaining a rich, moody atmosphere.